In 2002, Entertainment Weekly reported that Jackson was the original choice to perform at the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVI; however, the NFL ultimately decided to select U2 to headline it after a group of NFL owners and officials attended the band's concert in New York City shortly after the September 11 attacks. In September 2003, the NFL announced that Jackson would be the headline performer of the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show. Because the event was occurring during an election year, MTV decided that the show's theme would heavily focus on the network's "Choose or Lose" campaign, which encouraged younger viewers to be politically active and register to vote. Prior to the incident, Timberlake had attended Jackson's Rhythm Nation Tour as an adolescent, and Jackson's energetic dance routines and daring performing style made a deep impression on him. While Timberlake was a member of pop group'N Sync, Jackson selected the boy band as the opening act for many dates of her blockbuster Velvet RopeWorld Tour, which helped promote and introduce the then-relatively unknown group and Timberlake to the public worldwide. While on the tour, Jackson further promoted the group by performing with 'N Sync on several dates, including joining the group for a live a cappella duet of Stevie Wonder's "Overjoyed". Following the tour, Timberlake and Jackson became "good friends", with Jackson also praising Timberlake. Timberlake recreated Jackson's "That's the Way Love Goes" video with 'N Sync and was inspired by Jackson's performing style. When asked who he thought was "the sexiest woman on the planet", Timberlake had said "I've thought Janet Jackson has nothing but sex appeal, so I'd probably say her." Timberlake later asked Jackson to sing backing vocals on " Take Me Now", a song from his debut solo album Justified. AOL Topspeed spent $10 million to sponsor the halftime show. Later recounting of the acoustics in the stadium during the performance, the performance's sound engineer Patrick Baltzell would recount, “It was a disaster. Super Bowl Sound: When the World is Watching. You couldn’t understand a single lyric.” The shape of Reliant Stadium and its P.A. system produced a muffled sound, and stadium ownership as well as the NFL refused to allow Baltzell to play temporary speakers in locations that might block any fan's view of the stadium's video screens.
Synopsis
The performance was preceded with a video montage encouraging people to vote. The montage featuring celebrities such as Beyoncé, Tony Hawk, Jennifer Lopez, Elijah Wood, Chris Rock, Julia Roberts, Muhammad Ali, Jay-Z, Tom Cruise and others declaring things people can "choose", concluding with a urging that viewers choose to vote. The performance then began with a brief introduction by Jessica Simpson who shouted, "Houston, choose to party". This was followed by a joint performance of "The Way You Move" by the marching bandsSpirit of Houston, from the University of Houston, and the "Ocean of Soul" of Texas Southern University Jackson then took stage to perform "All for You". At the start of the song, she descended in a stage elevator. Following this, light dimmed and P. Diddy took stage on a secondary stage, located elsewhere on the field, emerging from a cloud of stage fog. He proceeded to perform "Bad Boy for Life". He was then joined by cheerleaders who perform a version of the song "Mickey", which substituted "Diddy", and later "Nelly", for "Mickey". Nelly then entered in a car, joining Diddy on stage to perform "Hot in Herre", during which the cheerleaders proceed to remove articles of their clothing. Following this, Diddy performed "Mo Money Mo Problems". Following this, Kid Rock took stage on yet another secondary stage, located elsewhere on the field, and performed "Bawitdaba" followed by "Cowboy". He did so wearing an American Flag as a poncho. Jackson then took stage on the main stage again performing "Rhythm Nation" with the song's music video choreography. She donned mostly the same outfit she had during "All for You", with some differences, such as different skirt than before. Timberlake joined her, and performed "Rock Your Body" with her, at the end of which song he tore off a part of her top revealing her breast. The show ended with voiceovers, again, declaring things to "choose", including getting involved.
Major controversy arose from the exposure of Jackson's breast. Jackson and Timberlake denied the incident was intentional, with Timberlake characterizing the incident as a "wardrobe malfunction". The controversy had long-lasting impacts on media and pop culture.
